Meet the Team #7: John Kelly (3D Artist)
Welcome to the 7th Meet the Team interview. This week’s interviewee is someone that will be familiar to our very early Kickstarter backers, and that is 3D artist John Kelly. John was one of the first team members to be assigned to the development of Elite: Dangerous and has been responsible for remodelling some of Elite’s classic ships for Elite: Dangerous, such as the Anaconda and Sidewinder. We start this interview by asking John how long he has worked at Frontier, and what projects he has been a part of:
How did you get into 3D modelling and what advice would you have to anyone else planning to get into it as well?
My name is John Kelly and I’m a Senior Artist working on Elite: Dangerous. I’ve worked at Frontier for 7 and a half years, working on two Thrillville games, The Outsider where I learnt my craft, Star Wars Kinect, Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Coaster Crazy.
How did you get into 3D modelling and what advice would you have to anyone else planning to get into it as well?
I got into the games industry when I was 23, having wanted to work in the industry since I was about 7. I got a Bsc in Games and Software Development and then practiced 3D modelling, used online tutorials, and made some contacts in the industry who gave me some brilliant advice and help on my show reel and CV. But at the end of the day I think I was lucky to get a position when I did, and had to work very hard in order to get my skills up to the level that is required when making high profile titles for the current generation of computers and consoles.
In terms of advice, I would say if you want to be an artist, practice, practice, practice. Go on forums, learn from others, get best practices into your routine early, and get a good foundation of workflow. Then put your stuff out there for critique and scrutiny and take all the advice given to you, even if it’s harsh because that’s the best way to learn.
Many of our early backers asked how you managed to escape from the cupboard you've been locked in, since disappearing from the Kickstarter boards?In terms of advice, I would say if you want to be an artist, practice, practice, practice. Go on forums, learn from others, get best practices into your routine early, and get a good foundation of workflow. Then put your stuff out there for critique and scrutiny and take all the advice given to you, even if it’s harsh because that’s the best way to learn.
The cupboard was nice, it had very nice skirting boards, it was a little dim though. The tale of my escape is rather exciting and long winded, which should be for another time. But suffice to say I was able to get out in time to start full development on ED.
When you first applied to Frontier was working on a new Elite game something you hoped you’d get the opportunity to do?
Absolutely! Elite is the game I’ve wanted to make my entire career.
Ships are obviously an area that you’ve been heavily involved in, what ship are you currently working on and how is the playable 25 ship fleet developing in general?
We have blocked out all the current ships and cockpits, so rough versions are all in the game and you can fly them around, deploy their hard points, dock in stations, and leap around the galaxy. The next stage is fine tuning the design, and increasing the level of detail one step at a time, then refining positions of hard points, drive units, thrusters, etc. How the ship will animate and articulate depending on certain circumstances. Those are the most interesting points because it's at that point the ships become more alive, more of a character.
Personally I have just finished a detail pass on a ship called the "Hauler" and have now moved on to developing the Adder to the same level, in between sorting out modules and keeping an eye on the rest of the ship team as we push ever closer to finishing our fleet. But everyone is working really hard and producing some lovely work which we're all looking forward to showing you guys in the coming months.
Personally I have just finished a detail pass on a ship called the "Hauler" and have now moved on to developing the Adder to the same level, in between sorting out modules and keeping an eye on the rest of the ship team as we push ever closer to finishing our fleet. But everyone is working really hard and producing some lovely work which we're all looking forward to showing you guys in the coming months.
Some of our forum members are curious about how the ship interiors are coming along. How much of the cockpit and general interior will be fully modelled for initial release?
How do you go about redesigning the classic Elite ships and do you feel any pressure updating these ships that so many people have such an attachment to?
One thing that unites everyone in our community is a love of Sci-Fi, are you a long-standing science fiction fan yourself?
Thanks, Ashley
Currently we've only got one cockpit developed to a sort of Alpha stage in-game and that is modelled up to about 180 degrees around you, at some point we do hope to have a full 360 degree cockpit but it’s not a priority at this stage. A fair amount of the Cockpit is modelled though.
The rest of the interiors at the moment aren't a high priority. We have built some blockout pieces for them, but they're more of a focus for later on, once we have the ships in and stations all going and everything spit polished, that's when we're really going to start digging into the interiors and their components, but we're laying the foundations for them for sure.
What is your favourite ship in ED so far?The rest of the interiors at the moment aren't a high priority. We have built some blockout pieces for them, but they're more of a focus for later on, once we have the ships in and stations all going and everything spit polished, that's when we're really going to start digging into the interiors and their components, but we're laying the foundations for them for sure.
My favourite ship so far is the (Imperial) Cutter. It hasn’t been shown yet, but it is a very interesting ship design and offers its own distinct modelling challenges, plus it's also the most expensive playable ship in game!
How do you go about redesigning the classic Elite ships and do you feel any pressure updating these ships that so many people have such an attachment to?
For the legacy ships like the Cobra, Sidewinder, Adder, etc we use the original line models as very basic blueprints for the silhouette of the design, then work in details and allow the creation to evolve as we (the 3D artists and the 2D concept artists) come up with more ideas. But basically for the legacy ships the line model is the guideline we try to follow, to evoke the same silhouette as the original but with the ED styling.
To be honest, I don’t feel a great deal of pressure. Updating classic looks is rather entertaining. Obviously you have the legacy to consider, but the assets are from a time when realistic surfaces and particles, and all the other bells and whistles we get to play around with now were a thing of dreams. So it's more about doing them justice and making them part of this new vision that we've got going. I'm certain that all the Legacy ships that will be represented in ED will be more than the fans were hoping for.
There are still several ships in Elite: Dangerous that have not yet been revealed to our community. Some of our fans are curious if there are any new ships you've designed that are not part of the original Elite mythos? To be honest, I don’t feel a great deal of pressure. Updating classic looks is rather entertaining. Obviously you have the legacy to consider, but the assets are from a time when realistic surfaces and particles, and all the other bells and whistles we get to play around with now were a thing of dreams. So it's more about doing them justice and making them part of this new vision that we've got going. I'm certain that all the Legacy ships that will be represented in ED will be more than the fans were hoping for.
I've not designed any personally, but all of the ships have been designed by the Art Team at some point throughout the process. But yes, there are a fair few new recruits for sure that I’m confident will become just as beloved as the originals!
A popular topic on the forums recently has asked whether people would prefer a realistic or stylistic aesthetic for Elite: Dangerous, and the respective benefits of both. What is your personal opinion, which do you prefer?
I think it depends on the source material, in regards to ED obviously we're heading down the more realistic path which suits the universe that's been created more than a stylistic aesthetic would. A stylistic approach does offer certain freedoms that a realistic style doesn't but given that we're making a science fiction game it's a nice challenge to generate assets that aren't real but look and feel like they're plausible in their function in a realistic setting.
We did play with some stylistic designs early on and even tested the waters with more block colour and flat shading, personally I feel that for this universe given the physics and breadth of the realistic galaxy that we're generating a realistic style suited it best.
We did play with some stylistic designs early on and even tested the waters with more block colour and flat shading, personally I feel that for this universe given the physics and breadth of the realistic galaxy that we're generating a realistic style suited it best.
One thing that unites everyone in our community is a love of Sci-Fi, are you a long-standing science fiction fan yourself?
Yeah I always have been since I first saw Star Wars (I know, I know), the idea of travelling amongst the stars has always fascinated me. Favourite films are Star Wars IV, V (the best one), and VI but I also love a lot of junk Sci-Fi, like Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick and Starship Troopers, stuff like that!
Book wise I’m not well versed in proper Sci-Fi books. I mean I read “Gateway” which was awesome but I thought Snow Crash wasn’t great. Again I like junk Sci-Fi books too, like Hunger Games and gaming universe books such as Mass Effect and Deus Ex.
What’s your favourite game genre, outside of space games / simulations?Book wise I’m not well versed in proper Sci-Fi books. I mean I read “Gateway” which was awesome but I thought Snow Crash wasn’t great. Again I like junk Sci-Fi books too, like Hunger Games and gaming universe books such as Mass Effect and Deus Ex.
Role playing games! I LOVE role-playing games of the videogame and pen and paper variety. Stuff like Skyrim and Final Fantasy (just finished VIII again recently for the millionth time), as well as beat-em-ups, well mainly street fighter, but other than that the usuals, driving games and open world adventure games are also good! I have no time for FPS’s (Other than Mirror’s Edge and Borderlands, those are my exceptions because they’re AWESOME).
Are there any games in the office to pass the time?
Well in terms of Elite we started a time trial for docking, which I held the lead for, until it was crushed by Tom (Kewell), one of the designers, which was pretty cool when we got that working for the first time. Other than that I play a LOT of Super Street Fighter IV during my lunch break.
Thanks for reading this interview and to John for taking part! Our next interview will be with another artist, but of the concept variety in Martin Houlden. Martin has been an integral part of the team tasked with visualising every detail of the Elite universe- from ships and stations, to breathing apparatus and brand logos. As usual if you have any questions for Martin, or feedback on this interview, then post below!
Thanks, Ashley
Great interview and that should keep the photoshoppers guessing a bit. 
